The Kremlin has increased funding for domestic propaganda to 58 billion rubles ($500 million) per year.
Increasing Domestic Propaganda in Russia
The DIU informs that in 2023, Russia spent 58 billion rubles on creating propaganda by so-called "non-commercial" organisations.
We are talking about structures formally not connected with the aggressor state that position themselves as "autonomous".
In fact, they are commissioned by the Kremlin to produce so-called "patriotic content" for distribution on the Internet: blogs, news, films, series, video games, etc.
According to intelligence data, the organisation pledged to spend billions of funds on internal propaganda with the aim of:
formation of public opinion loyal to Putin's regime;
justification of Russia's aggression against Ukraine;
influence on the consciousness of Russian service members by glorifying their participation in the war.
The increase in the costs of covert propaganda for the domestic audience may indicate a decrease in the level of trust in the official traditional media of the aggressor state, as well as an attempt by the Putin dictatorship to take control of the Internet environment in Russia.
Russia filmed a propaganda video to disrupt the mobilisation in Ukraine
At the beginning of April, Russian sources distributed a professionally made propaganda video about the mobilisation in Ukraine. It is designed to undermine the confidence of Ukrainians in the Ukrainian government.
Russian opposition publications Agenstvo and Mediazona reported that the actors in the video are professional Russian actors who have previously appeared in Russian TV shows.
According to ISW analysts, the video supports the Kremlin's broader efforts to undermine Ukrainians' trust in the government, undermine Ukrainian mobilisation efforts, and incite domestic discontent.
